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Re: Baker



Jeff Joseph wrote, quoting from my earlier message:

> snip
>
>One last comment which applies to a lot of the
>discussion of the last week -- it seems to me that
>when Mr. Baker criticizes library practices for
>handling mass-produced items like newspapers and when
>we discuss archival practices for unique items like
>personal papers or corporate records, we are talking
>apples and oranges.
>
>

I don't think that's his point at all.  I think the
main point is this:

<snip>

Jeff Joseph
SabuCat Productions
http://www.sabucat.com

Start of my message:

I was not trying to put words in Baker's mouth.  I
clearly state "it seems to me" so I am not sure how
this could get twisted around to being Baker's point.

Since I haven't read Double Fold (although I've read
about it, and I've read the infamous card catalog
article in the New Yorker and Vox), I don't know
where/when Baker is fixing the responsibility.  I do
know that libraries are microfilming from less than
complete print copies in certain cases. Does Baker
identify the problem caused by binderies automatically
cutting out ads and removing covers of periodicals as
part of the binding process? Obviously, this affect
the subsequent microfilm copy.

I've looked at hundreds of MPM's deteriorating 19th
and early 20th century natural history journals
(especially those published in Germany so those of you
who know paper know what I'm talking about here.) I'd
like to make sure we capture the intellectual content
before the bound journals fall apart entirely.  Since
we've had journals bound only since the late 1880's, I
cannot pinpoint when the practice of removing front
and back covers and advertising began.  My predecessor
stopped it in the 1970's.

This standard bindery practice means  we've lost the
contents pages, indexes and even article continuations
in some cases.  Since we bound thousands of titles,
for a ninety year period, in this manner, a lot of
useful information wound up on the floor of the
bindery.

I realize I am not talking about archival material
here but the especially fragile German materials are
not commercially available on film, many of them
aren't in NUC or the OCLC database, and we
occasionally get ILL requests from British and German
libraries for the ones we've managed to add to OCLC.
The WW1 era marerial is especially rare in this
country.

I don't care for the idea of microfilming or scanning
from a less than complete print but I also know if I
ever get the catalog records for these items onto OCLC
there will be increased demand for the material.
Interesting dilemna, no?


Judy Turner
Director, Library and Archives
Milwaukee Public Museum



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